Kataib Hezbollah suspends military activities in Iraq: “The Resistance’s weapons will remain in the fighters’ hands”

The Iraqi paramilitary group Kataib Hezbollah, which operates under the umbrella of the pro-Iranian coalition “Islamic Resistance in Iraq”, has announced through its leader, Ahmad al-Hamdawi, that it will suspend military activities in Iraq — as Al Jazeera reports, citing the Associated Press. The only exception, according to the announcement, will be targeting hostile aircraft that violate Iraq’s airspace.

The spokesman of the umbrella group, Jaafar al-Husseini, said in a statement that negotiations with the Iraqi government on regulating weapons had failed to produce an agreement. “The Resistance’s weapons will remain as a trust in the fighters’ hands,” al-Husseini stated, adding that they will continue to be directed against any enemy that targets Iraq and its people.

The announcement comes just two days after the same group gave Baghdad an ultimatum to lift what it called an “air blockade” on Iran, threatening to shoot down aircraft — an escalation that now appears to be easing with the decision to suspend. The move could mark a lowering of tensions on the Iraqi front of the U.S.–Iran war, which has repeatedly flared up in recent months.

Kataib Hezbollah’s decision is also published shortly after Iraq officially announced the end of the mission of the U.S.-led international coalition against the Islamic State, leaving the country to bear full responsibility for its own security.